A really bizarre scene was seen on Sunday at the winter stadium in Košice. The home team and hockey players from Liptovský Mikuláš grinded up, listened to the anthem and stood for the initial throw-in. But then the referee broke up and the duel did not begin. Due to administrative problems for guests who arrived without an implementation team.
Before the start of the season, Liptovský Mikuláš applied for the transfer of the license, which entitles the club to play the highest Slovak hockey competition, from the existing MHK 32 to the new entity ŠK 32.
However, the Slovak Hockey Association rejected this step three times, partly on suspicion that the club’s president Milan Čanky was transferring the license to a new entity in order to get rid of the debts incurred. At the end of September, the club’s association told them to solve internal problems “at home” first.
Apparently this did not happen, and last week the matter took on an unexpected dimension. Čanky re-registered the players of Liptovský Mikuláš from MHK 32 to ŠK 32, ie to a club without a license for the Slovak extra league, and did not send the team to Friday’s match in Detva. The result was contumacy.
The culmination of the bizarre situation came on Sunday, when Liptovský Mikuláš was to play in Košice. The players ran out of patience with administrative confusion and set out for the match on their own, in their own cars. However, without the coaches and other members of the implementation team, who apparently obeyed the instructions from the club management.
“I have no idea if the coaches will come too. We’ll see,” shrugged 40-hour veteran Rudolf Huna two hours before the start of the match. Nevertheless, his teammates changed clothes and went through skating, as did the home team of Košice. They even listened to the Slovak anthem and stood on the opening bulls.
Then, however, referee Tomáš Orolin disbanded and sent the teams to the locker rooms. “Due to the absence of the responsible persons of the visiting team, the minutes were not duly filled in. Liptovský Mikuláš lacked people who have the authority to solve these matters and sign the minutes,” the judge explained to the media.
“Liptáky” will meet the second contumacy in a row. If the third one comes, it will mean exclusion from the extra league for the club. The players’ initiative can therefore be seen as a warning of an alarming and absurd situation in the club.
“We’re tired of it, the quarrels have dragged on for too long. We’re here to do the work we pay for and love to do. This has to be handled by the people in charge,” urged Huna, who dressed in a rich career. Czech jerseys Třinec, Vítkovice and Karlovy Vary.
Since 2016, he has been working with short breaks in his native Liptovský Mikuláš. “At the end of my career, it’s something new for me. In the corner of my soul, I believed that the coaches would show up, but it didn’t happen. We’re already on very thin ice,” the former Slovak national team member continued.
The main coach of the traditional club is Josef Turek, who previously led Zlín, Třinec and Chomutov, and there is also a Czech goalkeeper Filip Krasanovský.
“Let the city, the new entity and the union solve it. And let them tell us who we will play for, who is licensed. We will continue to train and prepare for Wednesday’s match against Zvolen. I hope it will be played,” Huna concluded. “Otherwise, the fall into the lowest competition will probably come,” added Marcel Petran.
For a club that has given the hockey world Martin Cibák, Marek Uram, Ján Lac, Karol Križan or Jerguš Bač, it would be a big blow.
RSTV1 report with players of Liptovský Mikuláš in Košice:
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